Scott Sanderson of the Conservation Law Foundation testifies before the House Environment Committee at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe manure stream created by Vermont’s largest farm contains “four times as much phosphorus” as the sewage stream that comes from Burlington, before it’s treated at a wastewater plant.Wait what?That’s what Scott Sanderson with the Conservation Law Foundation told lawmakers in the House Environment Committee Tuesday morning, basing his numbers on a Cornell University analysis, the population of Burlington (about 44,500) and the number of cows at Vermont’s largest farm (about 4,000), he told VTDigger.It’s one example that illustrates why his organization and others have asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency to make state agencies change the way they regulate some farms — namely, the ones that send pollution directly into waterways. The state’s current regulatory system violates the federal Clean Water Act, Conservation Law Foundation has claimed and the EPA has affirmed. Sanderson’s presentation marks the latest volley in a saga that’s been playing out between his organization, the state’s Agency of Natural Resources and the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets since 2022. Through the Clean Water Act, the EPA ultimately regulates entities that send pollution into public waters, but it gives some states, including Vermont, authority to administer the law themselves. That responsibility lies with the state’s Agency of Natural Resources. But, in the 1990s, according to the EPA, lawmakers directed the agency to split the job with the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, with the latter performing farm inspections and reporting them to Natural Resources staff. A bunch of problems popped up, Sanderson told lawmakers. Disagreements and communication breakdowns have led to reporting delays, and ultimately, not a single farm in Vermont has been issued a federal Clean Water Act permit (also known as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit), even though a number of farms meet the requirements, Sanderson said. Already, the two agencies have submitted a plan to the EPA charting out a new system for regulating farms, but in a response issued Friday, the EPA had “several questions and concerns” about it. For one, the natural resources agency must be the sole authority issuing Clean Water Act permits in Vermont. On Tuesday, Sanderson told lawmakers that, in order for the system to change, they would need to act. “The legislature has a major role to play here,” Sanderson said. “This is not just between EPA and ANR.” — Emma CottonIn the knowVermont’s treasurer and lawmakers announced legislation Tuesday to cancel up to an estimated $100 million in Vermonters’ medical debt.The plan would spend $1 million in funds already held by the state treasurer’s office, meaning it would not require any new spending or tax increases. Under the proposal, Vermont would partner with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, which buys medical debt at steep discounts, for the average rate of one penny for each dollar of medical debt. Vermonters hold an estimated $155 million in medical debt, Pieciak said in an interview Tuesday — meaning that, if implemented as planned, the program could wipe out up to two-thirds of Vermonters’ medical debt.Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden Southeast, the chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, said lawmakers hope to introduce a bill this week.“I view this as government working at its best,” Pieciak said at a Tuesday press conference. “The proposal is a direct investment in people, helping give Vermonters the freedom to invest in their families, their homes and in their futures.”— Peter D’AuriaAdministration officials have unveiled a detailed regional framework for meeting “housing targets” mandated in statute alongside a map to track them. If Vermont wants to ease homelessness, grow its workforce, fill its schools and encourage more people to move here, the state will need over 41,000 additional homes by the end of the decade, and over 172,000 by 2050, according to the analysis. To get there, Gov. Phil Scott said he would be proposing additional reforms to Act 250, Vermont’s landmark land use law, at his weekly news conference Tuesday. This year, the administration will push to raise the standards for when a neighbor of a proposed housing development can challenge it in court, said Alex Farrell, Scott’s housing commissioner. Officials also want to create more opportunities for smaller towns to pay for infrastructure that can support denser developments.  Read more here. — Carly BerlinVermont Attorney General Charity Clark has joined top prosecutors in 19 other states and cities across the country in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s Monday executive order that aims to end birthright citizenship, Clark said Tuesday. Trump’s order, slated to take effect in a month, would reinterpret the amendment to begin excluding children born in the U.S. whose parents are “unlawfully” in the country or who have “lawful but temporary” status. Read more here. — Shaun RobinsonGo FigureNext fiscal year, the Legislative Joint Fiscal Office estimates there will be more than $115 million of “tax expenditures,” or education property taxes organizations do not have to pay. (This total does not include the Current Use program.)Among those included in the figure:$15 million from religious institutions $15.73 million from the University of Vermont$3.475 million from ski lifts and snowmaking equipment—Ethan WeinsteinOverheardIn the men’s restroom:House Rep. 1 : “You know, for Vermont, it’s really not that cold.”House Rep. 2: “Yeah, it was -9 at the house this morning. That’s not so bad.”—Ethan WeinsteinRead the story on VTDigger here: Final Reading: Advocates urge lawmakers to solidify authority over farm wastewater.